Breaking Skulls
by glowoffantasy
Summary: Short stories revolving around the Sons of Anarchy and the personal affairs of some of their members on a daily basis. Rated M for violent events and language. One-Shots.
1. Wielding Axes

**A/N:** I'm re-rewatching the show (addicted much?), and I came up with this side of the story after watching S1, ep 2: Seeds. Some of the Sons witnessed a man getting an axe to the head, but the show didn't really deal with the aftermath, and the next day everything was just peachy, so I came up with this story as a possible explanation. For the first time, I didn't put in a romantic storyline, didn't feel like it fit, so this is like a 'day of the life' from an outsider's perspective. I tried to stay true to the original story line, but I made some alterations here and there. Hope you like it! Please review, constructive criticism always helps!

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**Wielding Axes**

"Yes mother, I will be sure to get home safely." Cassandra told her mother once more, making sure that she kept her feelings of annoyance with her mother off of her face and out of her eyes. She finally made it inside her car, after her mother tried to postpone her departure for over 30 minutes, and pulled out of the driveway to start the ride home. As soon as she reached the town border, Cassandra grabbed her pack of cigarettes from the centre console and lit one up. With the first inhale she felt its effects immediately as she finally fixed the need her body had created; nicotine. Cassandra knew it was a bad habit to have, but with a family like hers, smoking seemed to be the best possible way to deal with it.

Cassandra, despite all of their differences, loved her family. Of course she did. But sometimes her overbearing mother and self-absorbed brother with his pretentious wife were too much to handle. Allowing herself another drag, Cassandra focused her eyes on the road in front of her. She had another 4 hours in front of her, and she was looking forward to the quiet.

Driving had always relaxed her, especially when she was alone. There was no one to talk to her, judge her on her wardrobe, or scold her for her decision to become a civil rights attorney. She cared about people, and she wanted to do a job that was meaningful. In this position, often taking pro-deo cases, allowed her to make a difference in the lives of people who were struggling to keep her head above water. She made a decent living for herself, and she had just bought her own little house in Bakersfield, a 3 bedroom house with a decent size kitchen and a lovely backyard.

Her mother of course, hadn't approved, like she didn't on so many of her daughter's decisions. Julia Macintyre was a politician's wife, always more concerned with the public image than her family's mental wellbeing. It didn't matter that her husband, James Macintyre, a previous senator to the state of California, had passed away 3 years ago from alcohol poisoning. The media had believed the much more esteemed death by heart failure, and that was all that mattered. Their son, James Macintyre Junior, was a businessman and CEO of his own company that was doing something with trade investments; Cassandra wasn't sure what exactly he was doing, but it sounded fancy. Daughter Cassandra Macintyre had made the family proud by getting accepted into Harvard Law, only to disappoint by revealing on her day of graduation that she was not becoming a criminal defense attorney like her parents had expected of her, but instead had altered the focus of her degree on civil rights, more precisely on constitutional rights and civil liberties.

Cassandra had moved back to California, but had started looking for jobs in San Francisco, rather than Sacramento, where her parents had retired. As long as she was not in within the border of the city her parents were in, anything would do, so San Francisco seemed as good a place as any.

A pang of sadness went through the woman in the 2007 Audi A4 when she thought about her father. The man had always been proud of her, as long as she was 'living up to her potential'. It was a sentence she got really tired of hearing throughout her teen years, but now that she was 38 she realized what he had meant with that credo, and it made her smile. Her father had been a wise man, and she was hoping she would gain that same level of wisdom at some point in her life.

It was pretty quiet on the road for a regular Tuesday. It was frustrating for Cassandra to say the least, because her mother would usually guilt trip her into coming. Julia was in her late sixties and her life of wealth and luxury had kept her in a physically fit shape. Unfortunately her mind wasn't able to withstand the test of time as gracefully, and Alzheimer's had popped up its nasty head. James and Cassandra had recently realized their mother had been hiding this from them for close to two years, but now that the secret was out, Julia held no reservations to use it to her advantage – or at least for as long as she could remember to do so.

So now, after a meal with three of the most infuriating people she knew, Cassandra was finally released of her familial duties for the rest of the week. Taking a deep breath, Cassandra allowed herself to relax some more. She had 4 hours all to herself, and she was planning to enjoy them in silence, as the road disappeared underneath her.

Cassandra decided to take the CA-99S rather than the I-5S, because it was a little more of a scenic route. It was only 8PM, so she would be able to enjoy at least 2.5 more hours of sunlight. Might as well make them count. When she reached Modesto, she noticed that her tank was only a couple of gallons away from running empty. Because she drove this road so much, she knew a small gas station south of the town that had pretty decent prices and was run by a friendly Pakistani man. She had often stopped there for coffee and made small talk with the man, who was trying to support his wife and kids, who were about to start middle school and high school at the end of the summer. She preferred to support those kind of smaller businesses, it felt rewarding to think that she played a small part in possibly allowing those kids to go to college or university.

When she pulled up, the pumps were empty and so she had free choice. After killing the Audi's quiet engine and popping open the gas cap, she easily followed the routine of being at a gas station. Not even a minute after she hooked up the pump to her car, a loud, tuned up, old school Chevrolet drove on the premise and parked at the pump next to hers. An obnoxious man stepped out, who looked around the area as if he owned the place. When Cassandra came into his view, he blew her a kiss, thinking the looks she was giving him were of the positive kind. Unimpressed, she just raised her eyebrow and went back to filling up her car.

The man walked inside and Cassandra was alone again. As soon as the tank was filled to the rim, Cassandra walked inside to the little shop. She noticed the man from before was in the back of the store, and she decided to hang back a little before she would grab herself a coffee, seeing that the coffee machine was so inconveniently located to where that man was hanging around. She got a bad vibe from him, so she made a small conversation with Khalid, the owner.

About a minute later, two men in leather kuttes came in and she recognized the name: Sons of Anarchy. The only reason Cassandra knew about them, because her father at one point in his career had tried to illegalize motorcycle clubs in California. The bill didn't pass of course, and he had almost lost his job because of the ridiculous proposition. Julia had been the instigator of that bill. She'd had a run in with some woman whose husband was apparently in one of those clubs, and to exert her revenge, she made her husband a fool in the public eye. Especially when Cassandra had taken it up on herself to proof that illegalizing clubs for motorcycle enthusiasts was unconstitutional.

It had taken her mother more than a year to forgive her daughter for making the family look a fool, but her father had secretly been proud. A grin or a wink had never been far away when they met for lunch without Julia knowing.

Of course Cassandra knew that MC's like the Sons of Anarchy had their criminal affairs, she wasn't an idiot. But fortunately for those clubs, the organizational structures were well thought out, allowing them to be motorcycle enthusiasts first, before being criminals.

The two man that had come in looked like trouble. Especially the blond man was looking like he wanted to draw blood. Not even 10 seconds later she could hear screams and punches being thrown as the biker started beating up the creepy man she had tried to avoid. Khalid excused himself to her when he ran to the back to break the two up. She noticed the grey haired man with the glasses taking out the tape from Khalid's security system, but she decided not to get involved in this mess.

"Hey! What are you doing? This is my shop!" Khalid yelled to the two fighting men. Cassandra found herself in the middle of the store, when the blond biker brushed past her on his way out. Khalid was running after him, still yelling in anger, while she could notice the smirk on the blond man's face. He was handsome and young, and she figured that with that kutte on his shoulders and a face like that, he was quite the heartthrob.

Khalid tried to stop the man from walking out and grabbed his arm. This was all happening a little too close for her comfort. She was looking at the three men in front of her who were struggling slightly, when suddenly the creep turned down their isle and raised a gun at them. "What are you calling me now, asshole?" He yelled, before firing a shot.

Cassandra couldn't help but scream at the loud sound. Khalid managed to drag her and pull her to the ground into the arms of the grey haired biker, while the blond one charged at the freak with the gun. While the two men struggled, Khalid went behind the counter to grab an axe he held there. Cassandra was freaking out, being held back by the older biker, she noticed that he too was armed with a gun, aiming it away from her at his companion and the man he was fighting. She had never been this terrified, all she wanted to do was get out of here, but the biker was strong and he refused to let go of her.

Cassandra didn't know how it happened, but the next thing she heard was Khalid screaming a primal scream, a soft 'thud' sound and then – quiet. When the opened her eyes was still wrapped tightly in the man's protective arms while next the axe was sticking out of the dead man's head. She was breathing loudly and tears were welling up her eyes. She had never before witnessed anything this violent in her life.

"You okay Jackie boy?" The man behind her asked, and she heard his strong accent. The blond man was once again standing and looked at the chaos that had followed them here. "Holy shit." He breathed. That summed up her thoughts quite exactly.

"You alright lass?" The man asked again, and it took a couple seconds for her to register that he was talking to her. She was still in his embrace, and was a little embarrassed to admit that is was quite comforting to be held right now. When he asked the question again, she softly nodded her head, afraid that if she opened her mouth to speak, only wails of sorrow would come out.

He slowly let her go, but she couldn't find the strength to get up, still traumatized by the events that had just unfolded right before her eyes. The man behind her moved away from her, needing to get up and deal with what just happened. Khalid noticed the Cassandra still frozen on the floor, not able to take her eyes off the dead body. He slowly moved towards her, but was unsure whether or not to proceed when she jerked her arm away as soon as he reached for it.

She had just seen a man get killed by an axe to the head. Finally her eyes moved away from the body and reached Khalid's. He moved in again, and this time she allowed him to help her up, but she was still shaking like a leaf. Khalid took her behind the counter, sat her down on the cashier's chair, and walked away to grab her a bottle of water. She noticed two more men in kuttes standing flabbergasted in the doorway of the gas station.

"What do we do now man?" The youngest looking one asked, not able to take his eyes off the axe plunged into the skull. Cassandra was hoping their answer would be to call the cops, but she doubted that these outlaws would even consider that option. If it ever got out that she was involved in the cover up of a self-defence murder, she could loose her whole career. Suddenly adrenaline washed over her, clearing her thoughts, and she decided to speak up. A brilliant plan had just come to her mind.

"You call the cops." Cassandra said calmly, gaining looks from all the men in the shop. Her mind was suddenly calm, and she could see how everything could work out perfectly. When the grey haired man who had protected her started to speak up, she quickly silenced him by continuing to speak. "I'm a lawyer, I cannot and will not be involved in the cover up of a death by self defense. I won't risk my career for you, not for any price. I personally need this to go the official way. But if you listen to me, I'll explain how we can all walk away from this and nobody will get charged." All of the men stayed quiet this time, and she took that as her cue to continue.

"This was self defense. He drew his gun and he would have killed you, maybe all of us, if you hadn't acted. He was out of control. He attacked first. We will testify that you, Blondie, did not instigate this in any way. My testimony will make sure that people belief the story." She paused for a second and then turned to the grey haired man. "You have the tape, destroy it. No tape, no evidence to suggest anything other than our stories."

"Khalid, you will explain how you were out of usable tapes or some bullshit excuse. You are just as upset over the lack of a tape as all of us, because it will not help you make your case with your insurance company. You four," she continued, "you put your weapons, except for your knifes, in the trunk of my car. Nobody will believe that you weren't carrying any weapons, so we'll need something to make it believable, but I have a feelings those guns aren't registered, so we need to make them disappear for now. The cops won't even consider touching my car, especially when I'm a crying mess. I promise you will get them back; you'll just have to trust me on that one. Now will somebody call the goddamn cops!" Cassandra forced out that last sentence, making sure that she left the men semi-speechless and not up to questioning her commands. "The sooner they get here, the better, because that will all work in our favour and make us look innocent." Then another idea popped into her head, and she turned back to Blondie. "If you want, I can testify that he was harassing me, and all you wanted was to make sure he left me alone. Everybody loves themselves a knight in leather armour." She finished speaking, a weak grin appearing on her face.

The four bikers were a little in awe of the woman who had managed to compose herself and was willing to give a false statement to the police. But she wasn't done yet. "This way, if we all stick to the plan, Khalid won't be charged with manslaughter and he will get the insurance money he needs to keep feeding his family, you boys will not need to worry about any illegal firearms charges that could come your way, and I won't have to worry about some old enemy trying to dig up dirt on me and actually finding something. We all benefit from this arrangement. Do you need any other arguments as to why this is the best way to go?"

The men shook their head, impressed with her rationale. Cassandra smiled lightly, feeling the adrenaline leaving her body. She was at her sharpest when that chemical was flowing through her, but as soon as it was gone, she was usually exhausted. It didn't happen very often that she had to think this quick on her feet, but she was glad that she still had what it took to do her type of job. She slowly walked out of the store and to her car. She needed a smoke, now.

It only took Modesto PD twenty minutes to arrive at the scene of the crime, at which point everybody was ready to do their part. The club's guns were safely in Cassandra's car, she was on the brink of tears, desperately smoking cigarette after cigarette, really selling the story of the man coming on to her and touching her unwantedly. Khalid was slowly coming to realize that he had killed a man, and tears were also found in his eyes. To the cops, this was a closed and shut case, and although they thought it was very convenient that the blond biker had been there to protect her, the gratitude she showed them was enough for them to stop questioning it. Another criminal dead. If anything, the police were relieved that there was one less bastard on the street.

There was a dead body, which meant that forensics had to be called in, and all of them had to leave their phone numbers behind in case of questioning, but, like Cassandra had promised them, they were all allowed to walk away that same night and go home. By the time 3AM came around, Cassandra just wanted to find the nearest motel and sleep, but she knew she had one more thing she needed to do.

* * *

When the police finally allowed her to go, she drove to the designated spot, about 15 minutes from the gas station. The cops were trying to hold the bikers for as long as possible, as if it would only take time to get something on the men. Cassandra waited impatiently, finishing her smoke. All this stress had made her loose track of how many she'd already smoked tonight, but she didn't care; she needed some form of relief.

After a considerable wait, the old suburban the men were driving, rolled into the abandoned parking lot. Nobody said a word as she popped open her trunk and they all stepped out of their cars.

"Thanks fer all that, lass. Din't have teh do that," the grey haired man spoke, taking a drag of his own cigarette. He pulled his guns and holsters from the boot of the car and strapped them around his shoulders, before putting his kutte back on. Cassandra shrugged. "No problem. Like I said, everybody benefits this way. Just trying to keep my own record clean." The man nodded, understanding she hadn't necessarily done it for them. "The name's Chibs. This hothead of a man in Jax, and these two idiots are Juice and the prospect." Pointing at all the men respectively, she nodded as Chibs told her their names. "Cassandra. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go. I hadn't planned on still being in Modesto at 3AM."

Despite the fact that these men had been kinder than she had initially expected, she needed to get away from them. "Do you need an escort home, darlin'? You've provided us with quite the service tonight." Jax asked, and Cassandra wondered why he would offer her something like that, when she realized that he was probably looking for a way to get in her pants. "No thanks Blondie, I'm going to Bakersfield, don't want to inconvenience you. Good night gentlemen, and honestly, I hope I'll never have to see you again."

Cassandra got back in her car and drove off into the night, leaving four bikers behind, one of them especially frustrated that a woman had just blown him off. Chibs snickered a laugh and patted Jax on the shoulder. Apparently there were some women who were immune to the biker charm. The four of them got back into the old car, and drove to Charming like they hadn't staged a murder in Lodi, or witnessed an actual murder right outside Modesto.


	2. Blood Feud (Part 1)

**A/N:** Another short story, this time in 2 parts. I've been feeling really inspired to write lately, so I hope you enjoy! Please review/give constructive criticism, it's always welcome!

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**BLOOD FEUD**

_Part 1 of 2_

It was Saturday afternoon and Maria was sitting outside on the deck in her backyard enjoying the sun, when she heard a clattering of noise coming outside of her neighbour's house, followed by a scream of pain. She knew that miss Aurélia Lowman, or Mama Aurélia as she was called, was living next door, and that the elderly woman had been having trouble walking. Mariam didn't hesitate to get over to her neighbour's house because it sounded like the woman was in trouble. When Maria finally made it to the kitchen in the small house, she found Miss Lowman on the floor, whimpering in agony.

"It's alright Mama Aurélia, I'll call an ambulance. Don't move, and don't force anything!" If the woman was relieved that somebody was there to help her, she didn't show it. "No, no ambulancia! No health care!" Aurélia said, and Natalie felt bad for the lady. "That's okay, mama, I can pay for you. No es caridad. Soy tu vecina y yo te ayudaré." _(It's not charity. I'm your neighbour and I will help you.)_

Maria had a good relationship with the woman 40 years her senior, so she knew how stubborn she could be. After calling 911 and reporting the accident, the man on the other line said it should be about 15 to 25 minutes. Maria hung up the phone and brought her attention back to the suffering woman on the floor. She knew better than to try and move her, as that could not only increase her suffering, but her injury could also increase. So instead, Maria walked to the living room and grabbed a decorative pillow from the couch. It was a good thing that Mama Aurélia kept her house spotless, so Maria didn't feel bad to put the pillow on the floor and softly move it underneath Aurélia's head.

"The ambulance will be right here, Aurélia, I will make sure you'll get all the assistance you need." Maria told the woman. Aurélia slightly nodded in gratitude. "Gracias, querida. _(Thanks darling.)_ Call Happy, he will want to know." "Si, por supuesto." _(Yes, of course.)_

Happy. Maria had known she was forgetting something, and it made sense that it was Happy. Even though he was not someone you would forget after you'd seen him, he wasn't in Bakersfield too often to visit his mother. He was part of a motorcycle club, up in Northern California, or maybe even way up north in Washington. Either way, he was on the road a lot, not being near his mother as often as Aurélia would have liked. But unfortunately for her, Happy had inherited her stubborn genes, and he simply did what he pleased. This resulted in Maria spending many hours over at the Lowman residence, listening to Mama Aurélia talking about her son, and how he never came home.

Maria had seen Happy occasionally, and she was as far in his good books as one could get, simply because she made sure to look after his mother. He had moved her over to Bakersfield a couple of years ago, because she needed a house that was a little bit more accessible. Because he couldn't afford much, they had eventually settled for a small, one floor house with two bedrooms, a kitchen large enough for her to cook comfortably, but small enough not to become a nuisance. Mariam remembered the day the truck parked in the driveway, followed by a convoy of bikers. She didn't offer to help unpack, figuring that the men would be more than capable of moving stuff, but she decided to make a pie when she realized that the elderly lady who was escorted inside would be the one making a home of the house.

"I'll call Happy when we get to the hospital, okay? I don't want to deal with him before I've dealt with you, and I actually have something positive to tell him." Aurélia smiled at Maria's response. The younger woman had had her run ins with her son, and Aurélia was glad to see that she had understood how best to handle him with such delicate matters.

After what seemed like a miserable eternity to Aurélia, the ambulance finally showed up. The emergency personnel were working quickly. "What happened?" One of the women asked. Maria explained what Aurélia had told her before: she had lost her grip on the kitchen counter, stumbled forward and then had fallen hard to the ground. The paramedics established that Aurélia Lowman had most likely broken her hip. "Are you family?" One of the other paramedics asked her. "I'm her neighbour, I'm often looking after her. Is it okay if I ride with?" Mariam asked, really hoping they would allow that.

"Of course, we'll need you to fill out some of her forms." Maria nodded, "I'll just go grab some of her paperwork and her passport." While the paramedics moved Aurélia onto a gurney, Mariam went to the cabinet where she knew Mama Aurélia kept her documentation. That would be important, before they started to assume she was in the country illegally, which was not the case.

When she had everything, she grabbed the keys from the little bowl in the hallways and locked the door behind her. Then she quickly ran to her own house to do the same. Finally, Maria was ready to go.

* * *

When Mama Aurélia's paperwork had all been filled out, and she had been assigned a doctor and a room, Maria took a 5-minute break. It was busy at the hospital, and people were shouting and running all around her. When she sat next to Mama Aurélia and held her hand, the now tranquilized woman was smiling back at Maria in a sate of slumber. They stayed like this for a couple more minutes, until the doctor came in. "Hi, my name is Doctor Ricardo Larrea, I'm on duty today in the ER, and I have miss Lowman's X-Ray's here with me. She has a femoral fracture that occurred in the proximal end of the femur, a very standard break for someone her age. However, she will need surgery to replace the femoral head. She is scheduled for that surgery early tomorrow morning. I understand you will be covering miss Lowman's medical costs?" Doctor Larrea asked Maria. "Yes, that's correct." "Okay, we'll need you to go over some more paperwork, if you could please follow me."

Maria took one more look at Mama Aurélia, and then followed the doctor. When Aurélia was out of ear shot, the doctor continued his questions. "Does she have any family or relatives who can take care of her?" Maria shook her head. "She has a son, but he lives up north in Washington. I'm going to call him in a bit, let him know what happened and that I've got it covered." The doctor looked at her confused. "Why are you doing this?" Maria started to feel a little uncomfortable with the questions, but she shook it off, under the impression that it was part of the doctor's job. "She a kind woman, she doesn't deserve to suffer for the rest of her life because of some medical bill." The doctor nodded. "You do realize that it won't just be the bill for the hospital though, right? She will have to go through physical therapy to get walking properly again. There's a good live-in clinic here in Bakersfield, but it'll be pricey. Will you or her son be able to afford all the care she needs?" Maria nodded. "Si, money is not a problem." "Bien, then please fill out this paperwork, miss..."

Realizing he was fishing for her last name, she gave it to him. "Alvarez, my name is Maria Alvarez."


	3. Blood Feud (Part 2)

**A/N:** here's part two. I hope you enjoy the ending, I think I really like it! Thanks for all the follows so far, I'm glad you're enjoying it!

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**BLOOD FEUD  
**

_Part 2 of 2_

Happy had been back in Charming for little more than 24 hours, but it already had him wondering why he even left in the first place. This was his home. The pussy was tight, booze overflowing, and the money solid. Last night had been one of those amazing Friday night parties SAMCRO hosted every week, and Happy had indulged himself.

Saturday, despite the hangover in the morning, had gone by quietly. The weather had been good, and Happy and his brothers had allowed themselves sort of a day off. There was no new hardware from the Irish coming in until later next week, and Laroy had been satisfied with their delivery on Friday. Life was good, and Happy couldn't complain.

The only problem that seemed to have piqued the club's possible interest was Mayan President Marcus Alvarez' recent push out of Oakland, coming closer to the Charming border. Things had been bad between the Mayans and the Sons for years now, but Clay had managed to reach some form of a truce with the club's president. Unfortunately, Alvarez seemed to be no longer interested in keeping a forced stalemate, and that's why Happy was here. If anything happened, the club knew they could count on the Tacoma Killer to do what was necessary to protect their brothers.

Happy, having lived quite comfortably for the last couple months, had been eager to jump in, ready for the thrill of another job for the enforcer. He still had plenty more space available for one of those smiley-faced tattoos on his lower abdomen, already longing for the piercing feeling of needle to skin.

What Happy had not expected was a call at 11PM that same Saturday night, from his mother's neighbour down in Bakersfield. The woman had been calm to explain how his mother had fallen in her house and had broken her hip. When he wanted to chew her out calling him rather than an ambulance, she had been understanding and patient, allowing him to rant on before cutting him off when he threatened to come over there and break her in half. "Happy, you're not listening to me. Your mother is already in the hospital, she will have her hip replacement surgery first thing tomorrow morning. I've got the bills covered, I just wanted to let you know that everything is fine."

That had shut him up all right. After managing to push out a quick 'thanks', he had hung up the phone and decided then and there that he would have to make the drive down south, to Bakersfield. It would only be 3.5 hours, 2.5 if he really really pushed it. It was late, which meant at least the roads would be empty.

"Shit prez, I gotta go. It's my mom, she broke a hip." Happy spoke silently to Clay, not needing anybody else to snoop around in his private stuff. "Of course brother. But take Tig with you, it's not safe out there for a brother alone, with the Mayans pushing up on us." Happy nodded, grateful that Clay was willing to send Tig with him. At least Tig would know to keep his mouth shut.

Not even 10 minutes later, Happy and Tig were on their way, not wasting anymore time. Happy needed to get to his mother, fast. He was silently grateful that his mother had such a caring neighbour. Maria had been there for his mother since the day she moved in. He didn't know why, but he didn't care – his mother was in good hands.

* * *

Maria had decided to stay with Aurélia throughout the night, until she would go into surgery. Then she could go home and take a quick shower, so that she was clean by the time the woman would arrive at recovery. The chair in the room wasn't the most comfortable to sleep in, but it was still better than the floor, so eventually, Maria doze off.

She awoke by the sound of the door opening and heavy footsteps coming towards her. The room was poorly light, due to it being night time, but she easily recognized Happy's posture. When he made it to Aurélia's bed, he looked at her, and Maria could tell from the frown on his face he was worried.

"Hey Happy, I wasn't expecting you here." She said drowsily, not registering the frustration present on his face. "How is she?" To the point, she should have remembered. Aurélia might love to hear the sound of her own voice talking, but Happy was the complete opposite.

"She's doing okay. Doctor gave her pain medication, so she was as happy as a whistle afterwards. Tomorrow's surgery is scheduled early, and the doctor said the new femoral head should allow her to move even better than before." Maria said quickly, trying to relieve some of the tension she knew he was feeling. His mother meant a lot to him, she could tell from the way he would treat her. He was patient and kind with her – something she had soon realized took a lot of self-control for the big biker. Happy sensed that Maria wanted to say something else.

"But?" he inquired.

Maria sighed. "There's only one problem. She'll have to go through physical therapy, preferably every day to ensure she'll be able to walk by herself again. Now the doctor said there's a good clinic right here in Bakersfield for rehabilitation, but it's pricey. I checked out the cost, it's reasonable for the service they provide, but I don't have that amount of money Happy. I can pay for the hospital bills, don't fight me on that!" She quickly said when she saw his face, trying to protest to her paying. "She's done a lot for me over the past few years, it's the least I can do. But like I said, I won't be able to help with the clinic, I have my own shit to deal with. It's called the Piute Centre for Rehabilitation, it's a little east and outside of Bakersfield if you want to look it up."

Happy looked at the woman in front of him and nodded once. She had gone above and beyond to care for his mother. "Thanks little girl. Means a lot." Maria simply smiled, "No problem Happy. Your mother's a very special person." The silence that followed was slightly uncomfortable, and suddenly Maria realized Happy wanted some time alone with his mother. "If you'll excuse me, I'm going home and take a shower. I'll see you tomorrow before she goes into surgery."

Happy nodded once more, but his attention had focused on his mother, who was peacefully resting on the hospital bed.

Maria let herself out, but nearly bumped into a man who was waiting outside the hospital room. When she looked up, the man was grinning at her, obviously checking her out. "Hello doll, need a physical?" Tig asked her, without having even looked at her face.

Thinking that his bad boy demeanor had intimidated her, Tig grinned lustfully at the young woman in front of him. That was quite the little lady who just stepped out of the room. When his eyes finally landed on her face, his eyes widened. It couldn't be.

Maria only noticed what he was wearing after she saw his initially lustful eyes turn wide in shock. She did a double take and she turned a little pale as a result. _Sons of Anarchy_ it said on his kutte. By the look on his face, he had also recognized her. What was he doing here? How did he know who she was?

Now that she was thinking about it, Maria thought that the man looked slightly familiar, those piercing blue eyes were quite the feature and she could swear she had seen them before.

They didn't say a word, just stared at each other, the tension and discomfort radiating off of their bodies. Maria knew she would have to be careful how she was going to handle this situation.

"Happy!" Tig yelled, knocking twice on the door with quite some force, while Maria still didn't move. _It couldn't be..._ Only seconds later, with a rather foul look on his face, Happy barged into the hallway. "What. My mother's sleeping in there, asshole."

"Happy, we got ourselves a situation." Tig spoke up, handing the kutte he had apparently been holding back to its rightful owner. Maria's eyes widened even further when Happy put the kutte on, making it look like he was born with it, a sense of authority washing over him. _Crap..._

"You're a Son?" Maria asked Happy incredulously, not believing what she was seeing right in front of her. Happy nodded, trying not to let his confused state show on his face. "Shit!" Maria breathed barely audible, as she gripped her hair with her hands, not believing the ridiculousness of the situation.

"What's up little girl?" Happy inquired, wanting to know what the fuck was going on right that instant. "That's no little girl, Hap. That's Marcus Alvarez' daughter." Tig spoke up. The look that Happy sent him kinda made him wish he hadn't though. The Killer looked furious.

Happy turned his head back to Maria, who was now ferociously pacing the hallway, from one wall to the other and back as she tried to keep her breathing under control. "Is that true?" He simply asked her, not wanting to know the actual answer. Maria stopped walking, turned to Happy, and slowly nodded her head, misery visible on her face.

"What the fuck? Why didn't you tell me?" Happy barked at her, not believing the ridiculous chances of the situation. Of all the houses in California suited for his mother, he had chosen the one next to the daughter of his club's biggest rival. Maria looked at him, shock and frustration clearly visible on her face. "Because I didn't think it mattered! You never told me what club you were in! Out of all the MC's in California, you belong to the only other 1% club in the state, that just so happens to be my dad's mortal enemy. You didn't tell me jack shit either!" She accused Happy right back, not willing to take the blame for this messed up situation either.

Her father was gonna have her head; unknowingly helping out a Son's family member, agreeing to pay for their medical bills? That would be quite the embarrassment for her father and the club, and someone would have to pay. She could only imagine her brother Esai's reaction to her attempt to do something good. He never forgave her for trying to break with the club and her family, feeling like she'd abandoned him. He would probably think she had done in on purpose, out of spite to hurt the club.

Maria looked at the two men in front of her, wondering how she would ever make this right again. "Is there any chance that we can just... Let it slide? Forget this ever happened and never speak about it again?" She asked with only a little hope in her voice.

Happy looked at her pensively. He could see why she had asked that. His mother had told him a thing or two about the young woman living next to her. She had had a falling out with her family and was now finally free to make her own decisions. She had suffered though, apparently her brother had gotten a little physical with her, and her mother hadn't even tried to defend her but rather had decided to cast her out.

Now Happy understood that this family of hers, had been Marcus' family. She probably couldn't deal with the club and had wanted out. Happy felt no sympathy for her though. He was a firm believer in family, and you stick with family no matter what. But for the sake of his own family, he figured he would do as his mother would want him to. She had always been kind to his family, never passing judgement or asking any questions, so he would grant her this one favour.

"Okay." Happy finally said. Tig looked at the Tacoma Killer as if he had just missed a clean head shot. "But you will leave. This can never be traced back to either of us. You will not come near my mother again or do anything to jeopardize this truce. I'm sorry little girl, but that's how it's gonna have to be."

Maria silently nodded, understanding what he meant and why he had asked that of her. "Ok Happy, I'll make sure to pay the bills, and then I'll be gone. Take care of Mama Aurélia for me, will you? She's gonna need someone now more than ever."

Happy nodded and watched the young woman turn around and leave. She had tried to stay strong, but he could hear her voice break bit by bit, and he could've sworn the first tear fell before she had fully turned around. This didn't sit right with him, he knew his mother loved Maria very much, but he needed to protect the club. If the Mayans would ever found out they had received help from Maria, God only knew how that hot-headed bastard Esai Alvarez would react. Marcus might not have the power to contain his only son and heir, which could lead to a full-blown war. No, this needed to stay a secret at any cost.

* * *

Two weeks later, Mama Aurélia moved into the Piute Centre for Rehabilitation, leaving her house in Bakersfield behind for now. When Maria hadn't come back after bringing her to the hospital, she had grilled Happy until he finally told her what happened.

Her first reaction was to give her stubborn son a good scolding; her second one was to console him. She knew he felt guilty enough as is, he hadn't wanted this situation anymore than she did, but she understood why it had been necessary. Aurélia's situation wasn't worth anyone dying over, she knew that, but she was sad nonetheless. The young woman had kept her entertained and young over the years, and now she worried she might start falling behind mentally. Aging wasn't something Aurélia had ever been looking forward to, but now that she was actually going through the process, she hated it even more.

Happy visited his mother as often as he could, but he knew it wasn't enough. The rehabilitation was going fine, and her mother was in a finer physical state than ever, but he could see she was lonely. She tried her best to engage with the other residents of the rehabilitation centre, but he knew she missed the ability to come and go as she pleased.

To Happy's displeasure, his mother's way of getting over Maria was to start flirting with some older man, who was in the centre for a knee replacement. After his dad had left, Happy deemed no man good enough for his loving mother, and he was on the brim of chewing her out over the phone when she finally told him about 'Nicolas'. Thinking his mother was finally really loosing it, Happy went over to the rehabilitation to set Aurélia straight. But as soon as he saw the two sitting together, holding hands and smiling endearingly at each other, none of that mattered to Happy anymore. His mother was finally moving on with her life, and he realized that he should too. So he left that guilt behind him and tread with a new found intensity through life.


End file.
